Avignon Higher School of Art (Vaucluse)

SYNTHESIS
The Avignon Higher School of Art (ESAA), whose origins date back to the 19th century, took the form of a public establishment for cultural cooperation (EPCC) in 2010, with the commune of Avignon as founding members, on the territory of which it is historically established, and the State, through the regional directorate of cultural affairs (DRAC). The EPCC status allowed it to obtain the autonomy necessary for the delivery of higher education diplomas integrated into the European Bachelor Master Doctorate system. The ESAA thus trains its students with a view to obtaining the national art diploma (DNA), equivalent to a Bachelor's degree, and the national higher diploma of plastic expression (DNSEP), equivalent to a Master's degree. These diplomas are available in two mentions: the “Creation” mention and the “Conservation-restoration of cultural property” mention. After tormented years, a new educational project, based in particular on a transversality between the two mentions and the development of research, was implemented from the start of the 2021 school year. It deserves to be consolidated and evaluated in order to be able to measure the influence of the establishment and its attractiveness.
For the 2023-2024 school year, the school had 124 students. The cost of tuition has increased since 2016. However, ESAA is still among the least expensive public art schools in France and has implemented a price adjustment for scholarship students.
The occupancy regime for the premises of the establishment must be secure.
The establishment had, in 2023, an annual budget whose operating income amounted to 1.8 million euros (M€), including a subsidy from the municipality of Avignon of around 1.5 M €. In 2016 and then in 2019, this contribution was significantly reduced, leading to a severe drop in the school's resources, which highlighted a constrained financial model. Personnel costs and general expenses were high in 2021, leading to an operating deficit. Mastery of the financial management of the establishment progressed in the following years.
The establishment must ensure the quality of the budgetary information produced by the board of directors and comply with the provisions of budgetary and accounting instruction M57 which applies to it.
Personnel management can be improved. If since 2019 the establishment has gradually been structured administratively and equipped with essential management tools, the anomalies noted by the chamber show a fragile mastery of the regulations governing the territorial civil service. The implementation of Rifseep in particular needs to be reviewed.
The operation of the revenue authority, reactivated in 2023 after a suspension by the public accountant in 2017 following serious irregularities, must be strictly regulated. Rigorous monitoring of the management's accounting, in compliance with current regulations, as well as the deployment of a robust internal control system are necessary.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Recommendation No. 1.: Specify, in the statutes, the respective share of the financial contributions of each of the member public entities, in accordance with the provisions of article R. 1431-2 of the general code of local authorities.
• Recommendation No. 2.: Adopt, as part of the implementation of Rifseep, a deliberation which effectively sets up the CIA component and which distributes the establishment's jobs within the different function groups, and resume individual award orders in accordance with this deliberation.
• Recommendation No. 3.: Complete the annexes to the budget and the administrative account in accordance with the provisions of articles L. 2313-1 and R. 2313-3 of the general code of local authorities.
• Recommendation No. 4.: Adopt as soon as possible the agreements for providing the premises occupied by the school and then proceed to record the related accounting entries.
• Recommendation No. 5.: Account for depreciation charges in accordance with the provisions of Article L. 2321-2 of the general code of local authorities.
• Recommendation No. 6.: Apply the procedure for reforming an asset and inform the public accountant to update the state of the asset.
• Recommendation No. 7.: Keep the accounts of the revenue authority in double entry in accordance with the codifying instruction relating to the authorities of local authorities of April 21, 2006.
• Recommendation No. 8.: Implement controls to cover the risks linked to revenue management.